The Blue Comet Train

[3rdrail]

Hi All ! I understand that the famous Jersey Central's "Blue Comet" officially stopped running 9/27/41. I'm curious, however, if an unofficial Blue Comet, perhaps with diesel power, ran after that on the same route. If it did, would it still have been called The Blue Comet and might the route or stations stopped at been changed ? Any info would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Ken W2KB]

Hi All ! I understand that the famous Jersey Central's "Blue Comet" officially stopped running 9/27/41. I'm curious, however, if an unofficial Blue Comet, perhaps with diesel power, ran after that on the same route. If it did, would it still have been called The Blue Comet and might the route or stations stopped at been changed ? Any info would be appreciated. Thanks.

I don't think any passenger trains continued to Atlantic City. I have read that ridership was down to less than 15,000 a year by 1941. Diesels on passenger trains did not start being used until well after the War. Passenger service over a portion of the route, to Tom's River via a branch, continued into the 1950's I believe. And NJ Transit does run over a portion of the route from South Amboy to Red Bank.

[firthorfifth06]

To reply to KenW2KB:

Passenger service on the Barnegat Branch (which included Toms River) ended during the early fifties. Until then, from the late forties and onward, only one round trip ran on the entire NJS and Barnegat branches, and that was the Sunday only round trip to Barnegat, formerly called the Fisherman's Special. Unsure of the final dates on that train, but maybe someone like octrainguy could fill in the gaps on that one?

Also, service south/west of lakehurst (as in Whitings and beyond) ended during the forties while it was nearly nothing! In fact, engines being used on those runs were used for passenger runs in the AM, then assigned to freight trains afterward (see Trail of the Blue Comet). I do not believe the first diesels made it down there for pax service in '49

[blue comet]

looking to part with some of my collection that was part of the blue comet train let me know if anybody is interested thank you

[charlie6017]

You may want to list the artifacts that you wish to sell in a post on here.......you'll
probably attract more interest this way.

Good luck!

Charlie

[The Blue Comet]

My Grandfather, Bish Smith was an Engineer on the Blue Comet and this wonderful train is near and dear to me. Am looking for any pictures or collections of the dishware used in the dining car. Were the dished specially designed for this train? Any help would be appreciated. Thank you
Bob Cramer

[John_Perkowski]

This is one of my go-to sites. At the moment, he has no china for the CNJ, let alone the Blue Comet.
The Railroad Commissary

I'll ping member CNJ. He might have resources.

I've also moved this the the CNJ sub forum of fallen flags. You might have better luck here (I did leave a shadow at NJ Railfan).

John
a UP Winged Streamliner collector

[liftedjeep]

https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Produ ... 1467126540" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

-Chock full of great pics, info and a full history of the Blue Comet, including what remains today and Lionel's take on the train.
Ben

[Jeff Smith]

A little dated from earlier in the year, but an interesting article on the Blue Comet of CNJ fame: https://www.railwayage.com/news/new-jer ... est-train/

Lots more in this article, but here's a "brief", fair-use quote.

On Saturday, Feb. 22, history buffs and railfans from around New Jersey gathered in a repurposed and still-beautiful former railroad terminal to celebrate a train that, during its short life, was an iconic and luxurious one that the Garden State could call its own. That train was the Blue Comet on the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ). It was New Jersey’s all-time premier train, which set the standard for décor and service at reasonable prices during an era when not many people could afford even a coach ticket. Few of the people who actually rode that train are alive today, and probably fewer still have vivid memories of the trips they took, but the fast and luxurious train that whisked riders through the countryside and the Pine Barrens of South Jersey to Atlantic City lives on in the DNA of New Jerseyans who remain tired of living in the shadows of New York and Pennsylvania, and who cling to memories of experiences of the past that their state could claim as its own.
...
Blue Comet Day was first celebrated last year, to commemorate the 90th Anniversary of the train’s first run, which took place on Feb. 21, 1929. The venue was the historic CNJ Jersey City Terminal, also known as Communipaw Terminal, on the Hudson River waterfront in Jersey City. Ferries took passengers from Liberty Street in Lower Manhattan to the terminal, which was built in 1889 and expanded in 1914, itself replacing the original head house from 1864. It has been almost 53 years since the last train left that station, a commuter train that ended the service day on April 30, 1967. After that, CNJ trains were diverted onto the Lehigh Valley Railroad at Aldene and then onto the PRR (now Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor) at Hunter Interlocking, about one mile south of Newark Penn Station. The New Jersey Department of Transportation implemented the change, known as the Aldene Plan. Trains on the line, now known as the Raritan Valley Line and operated by NJ Transit, still use that route.
...
Atlantic City was the place to visit in the 1920s. It was known as the “World’s Playground” (think of Boardwalk Empire), and the CNJ transported people there on its Atlantic City Express and Playground Special trains. The railroad lost money on those trains, except during the summer, because of a lease with the Pullman Company for parlor cars that required the railroad to guarantee revenue to Pullman.
...
In 1928, CNJ President Roy B. White proposed an alternative: a luxurious coach train that would avoid the expensive Pullman lease. From the new Baldwin-built G3s Pacific-type (4-6-2) steam locomotive, three of which (831, 832 and 833) were built, to the open-platform observation car, the entire train would sport a paint scheme that evoked the Jersey Shore: Ultramarine and Packard Blue to represent the sea and sky, and cream at window level to represent the sand. Everything else associated with the train would be blue, from the upholstery on the seats to the interior appointments to the napkins in the dining car to the tickets themselves. The locomotives’ marker lights, headlights, handrails, coupler lifting rods, cylinder head covers and back valve chambers were nickel-plated. Side rods were polished. The Blue Comet name was painted in gold all-caps lettering on a blue name board mounted to the front of the smokebox, just below the Elesco feedwater heater.
...